Slovenian same-sex marriage referendum, 2015
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A referendum on a bill legalising same-sex marriage was held in
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
on 20 December 2015. The bill was rejected, as a majority of voters voted against and the votes against were more than 20% of registered voters.


Background

On 3 March 2015 the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
passed a bill defining marriage as a “union of two” instead of a “union of a man and a woman.” Conservative opponents of the law, including a group called Children Are At Stake, gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the issue, hoping to block same-sex marriage. On 26 March, the National Assembly voted to block the referendum on the ground that it would violate the constitutional provision which prohibits popular votes on laws eliminating an unconstitutionality in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The proponents of a referendum appealed to the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
, which on 22 October declared that the National Assembly does not have the ability to declare a referendum unconstitutional. The National Assembly thus on 4 November scheduled a referendum to be held on 20 December 2015. Per article 90 of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
a law is rejected if "a majority of voters who have cast valid votes vote against the law, provided at least one fifth of all qualified voters have voted against the law". A minimum of 343,104 voters (which makes up 20% of about 1.7 million registered voters) are required to cast a valid "no" vote for the result of the referendum to be valid. In a 2012 referendum, 54.55% of voters rejected a law that would have expanded rights for same-sex registered partnerships. Slovenian Catholic groups, and
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
urged a "no" vote. A number of EU politicians, including Violeta Bulc called for a "yes" vote. All parties in
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
except SDS and NSi supported a 'Yes' vote.


Opinion polls

A poll conducted by Delo Stik in February 2015 showed that 51% of Slovenians supported the bill, which was debated in the National Assembly at the time, while 42% were against. Another poll conducted by Ninamedia in March 2015 showed that 42% of respondents supported the new law, while 54% opposed. Support was highest among those younger than 30, and in the
Slovene Littoral The Slovene Littoral ( sl, Primorska, ; it, Litorale; german: Küstenland) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Adria ...
region. A poll from November 2015 showed that 46% of respondents supported and 54% opposed the bill. The poll suggested a strong division between different groups. While most women, atheists and residents of urban areas supported the bill, a significant majority of men, Catholics and rural population opposed it. The poll also suggested a low turnout and the possibility that the result would be non-binding.


Results

Early voting Early voting, also called advance polling or pre-poll voting, is a convenience voting process by which voters in a public election can vote before a scheduled election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as via postal voting, or in ...
began on Tuesday 15 December 2015 and continued for the two following days. Results were released on Sunday 20 December 2015 after all polls closed. The bill was rejected by a majority of those who voted and a sufficient number of "no" votes were cast (more than 20% of all registered voters) thus fulfilling both constitutional requirements for a binding result.


Aftermath

The parliament is obliged by the result for one year and cannot propose similar legislation in that period. Initiators of the referendum suggested that they will not oppose legislation which would expand social rights for same-sex unions as long as it does not include adoption rights and redefinition of marriage. Supporters of the defeated bill expressed their disappointment over the result and suggested that a number of 'yes' voters clearly decided to boycott the referendum. Same-sex marriage was however legalized by courts, with immediate effect, in July 2022.


Inaccessible polling places dispute

Before the referendum, two voters with disabilities requested that the authorities make their polling places accessible. Their requests were denied, and the courts rejected their lawsuits and appeals. In 2019, together with the Slovenian Disability Rights Association (Drupis), they submitted applications to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
. In January 2020, the Court communicated the cases with the government of Slovenia. As of January 2020, the cases, called Toplak v. Slovenia and Mrak v. Slovenia, are ongoing.


See also

*
Recognition of same-sex unions in Slovenia Same-sex marriage in Slovenia has been legal since 9 July 2022 in accordance with a ruling from the Constitutional Court of Slovenia. The court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriages violated the Constitution of Slovenia and gave the Slovenian P ...
* LGBT rights in Slovenia *
2012 Slovenian Family Code referendum A referendum was held in Slovenia on 25 March 2012 on the new family code passed by the then-governing coalition led by Borut Pahor. The code was rejected with 54.55% of voters against the law.


References


External links

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Zakon o spremembah in dopolnitvah Zakona o zakonski zvezi in družinskih razmerjih
{{Slovenian elections 2015 in Slovenia 2015 2015 referendums Same-sex marriage referendums 2015 in LGBT history LGBT rights in Slovenia December 2015 events in Europe